When I was in high school I took a class on Roman history that included a two week trip to italy. It was one of my most memorable experience as a teenager. I fell in love with the country, the architecture, the style, the food, everything. The first week of the trip was spent exploring Rome and visiting so many of the ruins we had studied. Then we drove south for a week visiting Capri and Sorrento. On that drive we stopped for lunch in Sperlonga, the summer villa of the Emperor Tiberius. The Razorock “XX” shaving soap and aftershave take me back to that drive through the Italian countryside.
As much as I love Acqua di Parma “Colonia” and the complimentary Razorock “XXX”, the Razorock “XX” might be my favorite of the three X fragrances. The “XX” has the same citrus as the “XXX”, but where the “XXX” turns to fragrant herbs, the “XX” incorporates fresh florals and woods. What this does is make the “XX” a much more versatile fragrance that can be worn all year long. Florals in cold weather brighten up the room, while florals in warm weather accentuate the season. Either way, citrus blended with florals and woods is always appropriate. If you are looking to pair the Razorock “XX” with a stronger fragrance, I would recommend the Floris No. 89 EDT or the Carthusia “Corallium” EDP
One of my favorite features of all the Razorock soaps I have tried is how easily they lather. I mean, I have found that most Italian style shaving soaps are very easy to lather, and the Razorock soaps are no exception. I have yet to find a brush that didn’t work well with these soaps, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Razorock’s own Plissoft “Monster” as an extremely viable option.
The Razorock “XX” shaving soap is extremely slick, but I do not recommend second passes or even touch ups without reapplying your lather first. The soap shaves away quite completely (something I love about it). This leads to a superbly clean post shave feel. However, the “clean sweep” as it were, does not leave much, if any, lubrication on the face for protection after a pass.
I love a simple aftershave. Some of my favorites are alcohol-based with only a few minimal ingredients. My skin seems to respond best to a light aftershave splash followed by an oil reducing moisturizer. Even witch-hazel causes a poor reaction for my skin. (If anyone has any insight into why this happens, please reach out.) The Razorock “XX” is a pretty clean aftershave with primarily alcohol and fragrance with a touch of menthol as the ingredients. However, I would like to see Razorock clean up a few of the other chemicals used if possible.
I definitely recommend both the Razorock “XX” shaving soap and aftershave for their performance, fragrance, and versatility.